Overshadowed it may be by the GeForce 8800 GTX's debut, but the nForce 6 chipset series was launched today too. Nvidia unveiled three models: the 650i Ultra, 650i SLI and 680i SLI. All three are designed to support Intel processors - hence the 'i'.

The 680i - seen in released-too-early pics last month - runs the range of Intel CPUs up to the quad-core Core 2 Quad and recently released Core 2 Extreme QX6700. Its frontside bus runs at up to 1,333MHz, handy for overclocking now and Intel CPUs with faster FSBs tomorrow.

Synchronise the 680i's FSB clock with its DDR 2 memory speed, and Nvidia's QuickSync Technology, debuting with the new chipset, can boost memory performance, the company said. The part supports two 16x PCI Express slots for two co-operatively rendering graphics cards, and an 8x slot for a third GPU to handle physics processing.

The 680i supports a single IDE channel, while the two 650i chipsets run two. The SLI chipset drives a pair of x8 PCIe slots, while the Ultra has just one. Both chipsets have four 3Gbps SATA ports, though they will support drives in RAID 0, 1, 0+1 and 5 configurations. Gigabit Ethernet is part of the package, along with Nvidia's FirstPacket quality-of-service system. They've got HD audio and dual-channel 800MHz DDR 2 memory controllers. ®

Related stories

Gigabyte, Asus JV pitches 'next-gen' gaming mobo (16 January 2007)
Intel anticipates Vista-led IGP sales boost (22 December 2006)
Nvidia opens online SLI kit bazaar (21 November 2006)
Nvidia preps Q1 2007 debut for G84, G86? (20 November 2006)
Nvidia readies five more G80-based GPUs? (13 November 2006)
Nvidia goes gangbusters in Q3 (9 November 2006)
Nvidia sails to Cuda in bid to stem ATI's Stream (8 November 2006)
Nvidia denies GeForce 8800 GTX recall (7 November 2006)
Nvidia buys iPod chip supplier (6 November 2006)
Nvidia ships final ForceWare drivers for Blu-ray Disc, HD DVD (3 November 2006)
Nvidia may take $150m hit over stock options (2 November 2006)
Nvidia readies nForce 650i pair? (23 October 2006)
Nvidia's three-GPU mobo spied on web (16 October 2006)